Nation’s Premier Pro-Science Political Organization Encourages Run from Dr. Goroff, Who Leads Bridget Fleming by 15% among Primary Voters

May 3, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action Fund released the results of new polling that shows Dr. Nancy Goroff, the 2020 Democratic nominee in New York’s first congressional district, with strong advantages in net favorability and in a potential Democratic primary matchup with newly announced candidate Bridget Fleming. 

As 314 Action Fund encourages Dr. Goroff to jump into the race, this polling establishes the scientist as the strongest Democratic recruit in NY-01. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will aim to spend $50 million to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races. In 2020, the organization spent $25 million on behalf of its endorsed candidates and raised a total of $5 million in grassroots donations for scientists running for office.

The poll, which was conducted by Public Policy Polling on behalf of 314 Action Fund and polled Democratic primary voters in the district, shows Dr. Nancy Goroff leading Bridget Fleming by 15% in a potential primary election matchup, well outside the poll’s margin of error. In net favorability, Dr. Goroff holds a 10% lead over Fleming, with nearly two-thirds of Democratic primary voters unsure of their opinion of Fleming.

The margin of error of this poll is +/- 3.8%, and the toplines can be viewed here.

“By launching a doomed-from-inception gubernatorial run, Lee Zeldin is handing Democrats a golden opportunity to flip this open seat in 2022—an opportunity for which scientist Dr. Nancy Goroff offers the best chance,” said John Sweeney, spokesperson for 314 Action Fund. “Congress needs more scientists, and Nancy already has the clear support of primary voters who are ready to make her the first woman with a science Ph.D. in the House. NY-01 is all in on Nancy.”

Should Dr. Nancy Goroff enter the race for New York’s first congressional district, she stands to make history as the first female scientist with a Ph.D. to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2020, 314 Action Fund invested $2.5 million in support of Dr. Goroff, and if she runs in 2022, the organization will use its vast resources and six-million-strong membership base of grassroots supporters to ensure that she is the Democratic nominee in this key congressional district. Previously, Dr. Goroff served as the chair of the Chemistry Department at Stony Brook University, where she conducted pioneering climate change research.

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as over 100 to state and local offices. In 2021 and 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.